NEW Lionel FREIGHTSOUNDS PS-1 Boxcar

Ugh. I ordered five of them under the belief the thumbtacks were gone. 

Yeah, I was surprised also. When I ordered it I wasn’t even thinking about the trucks. It’s the first new piece of rolling stock I’ve purchased since they came out with the that truck. 

I assume there is a pickup roller on the truck for center rail power.  I thought that the die cast sprung trucks don't provide a stable ground connection on the outside rails.  Most everything needing power like the barrel car, dump car, etc that i have usually has all metal trucks. 

PRR PS-1 6-83533 sound car doesn't have the thumb tack trucks. Maybe you can just replace the trucks on 1926640.

The SFRD freight sounds refrigerator (from 2018 V2) that I just got a couple weeks ago has the thumbtack couplers. I think these are some of the last cars to have them.

The LionScale ACF CENTER FLOW 4-bay covered hoppers recently released do not have the thumbtack magnetic coupler tabs.

Andrew

I bought a number of them. I can live with the thumbtacks. A lot of my rolling stock has them...........Paul 2

Lionel has stated that once they finish up the supply of the thumbtack trucks on hand, the tackless trucks will used.

LionScale trucks are completely different.  Apples and oranges.

I also received two ps-1 boxcars which are a first for me. Question if I may. Inside each box are two black tabs with screws and there is nothing in the instructions relating to them. Can anyone tell me what they are for. I would guess they are truck related. Thanks for any information on them.

You CAN see the couplers when the car is in your hand but it doesn't really matter on a moving toy train.

Jsulli21 posted:

I also received two ps-1 boxcars which are a first for me. Question if I may. Inside each box are two black tabs with screws and there is nothing in the instructions relating to them. Can anyone tell me what they are for. I would guess they are truck related. Thanks for any information on them.

They are for Kadee coupler conversions.

Doug

Thank you Doug.

Got mine today from Ready to Roll in Miami. We put them on the store layout to test them and they are great! I think they are much better than the last bunch of cars that came out a few years back. Too much bang and boom for me. These are perfect for a long train with a flat spot sound spotted in the full train. I got the Pennsy and the B&O Sentinal cars. The Pennsy paint is a little faded, but nice. The B&O blue strip is way off. Both paint jobs are done nicely though. The couplers are a disappointment but not a game changer. You just got to wonder when you know that they have a beautiful truck for the non sound PS1's.

Billy C

PUFFRBELLY posted:

Greetings Everyone,

Today I received my Lionel Freight Sounds PS-1 Boxcar decorated in the Pennsylvania Railroad livery.  Stock Number 1926640.  Overall impression of this piece is very good.   The detailing is nice with excellent graphics.  I didn’t have a chance to run her around the layout but I sampled the “Freight Sounds” by using the 0-5-0 switcher for a short distance on the main.   The sounds are interesting to me but I’ll have to wait for a longer run to really decide.  Now, here’s my one and only complaint.   This piece is equipped with the “Thumb Tack” Cheese Ball couplers.   Yeah, the trucks are metal die cast, BUT they are rigid and NOT sprung.  Perhaps this is a bit Nit Picky but with a retail price north of $130.00 I wouldn’t expect this type of truck.   I know about the disclaimer that what is depicted in the catalog is not necessarily what is delivered, but the PS-1’s in the catalog show the “Thumb Tack-Less” trucks.   A very disappointing situation indeed.

 Chief Bob (Retired)

Oh no! My Susquehanna PS-1 arrived today, and I did not open it yet. Not to worry. I will either cut off the thumb tack couplers with a dremel or replace the trucks and couplers with Lionel's die-cast sprung trucks and couplers with hidden uncoupling tabs. 

Maybe Lionel should of put their great sound system in a Menards box car.

Maybe they should first make it sound like a real freight car, not some guy inside with a big hammer.

The sound system gets the electrical power through the tracks using these trucks with rollers.

It seems like the other truck option would be Caboose Trucks with rollers to pick-up the current from the rails.

Andrew

I'm confused Andrew, what are the caboose trucks doing different?  They have rollers just like the freight car trucks.

If somebody wants a truck with more details in the frames, they could use the caboose trucks.